An online event will happen in its place. Please read the update below

Dear Friends of the GFA,

It
is with a very heavy heart that I announce our decision to refrain from
a physical gathering at the 2020 Guitar Foundation of America
International Convention and Competition, which was scheduled to be held
June 22-27 in Indianapolis. I assure you that this decision was not
reached lightly. The GFA leadership, including the Board of Trustees,
Executive Committee, and Staff has engaged in thoughtful discussion,
along with our host, Nemanja Ostojić, endeavoring to balance concerns of
health and safety along with the best interests of everyone involved.
We are incredibly grateful to Nemanja for all the work he did in
preparation for this event, and to the staff at the University of
Indianapolis for their enthusiasm for the event, and their
professionalism in the face of this international crisis.

We
are a community, and one which should still come together. To that
end, it warms my heavy heart to announce the following efforts to make
absolutely gourmet lemonade from our current circumstances:

We
are working to develop online experiences to engage our community over
the dates we would have all been together in Indianapolis. Technology
is a wonderful thing! We will bring you lots of the same great content
of our diverse array of lectures and technique workshops - all in an
online format. Stay tuned for more news about online engagement and how
we can all be together, while being far apart.

The
International Concert Artist Competition (with a heavily reduced
entrance fee) will be rescheduled to take place in early fall 2020.
The preliminary round will be conducted via video, and semifinalists
will come together in the US to perform for an event to be livestreamed
to all friends of the GFA around the globe. Rules will be available by
April 10. Keep practicing!

The
International Youth Competition will move to an entirely online event,
taking place June 22-27, 2020, as a key component of our online event.
Rules available by April 10. Keep practicing!

The
International Ensemble Competition is canceled. However, we look
forward to giving a stage to the great ensembles around the world. Keep
an eye out for opportunities to share the great work your ensemble has
been doing with us during our online event in June.

The
Guitar Summit is regrettably canceled. However, there’s nothing
keeping these kids down! Director Chuck Hulihan is working on some
ideas to bring the middle school and high school students together.
Spread the word. Let’s make this the biggest online gathering of teenage
guitarists the internet has ever seen!

If
you have already registered for the convention and/or signed up for a
dorm, we will waive our normal administrative fee, and offer you a full
refund. In order to receive your refund, you simply need to contact
Ebaa Khamas (info@guitarfoundation.org,
or 877-570-1651), and provide him with your name, and the security code
on the credit card you used to pay for your registration. Ebaa will
process refunds promptly as requests are received.

If
you find yourself in a position to help and would like to donate your
completed registration, Ebaa can provide you with a tax-deductible
donation receipt. We realize that the impacts of COVID-19 are deeply
affecting our community, and you may not be in a position to help. But
if you have a steady paycheck and are able to support our efforts to put
on a great online event in June, we would appreciate your show of love
and support for the GFA.

By
June 2021, we will be ready and eager to celebrate together in
California. I am dreaming of that feeling now - we need these dreams,
and each other, now more than ever! In the meantime, we must all find
ways to build and celebrate our community using what means we have at
our disposal today.

Let’s
be creative. Let’s support each other. Let’s not allow this to send
us to our respective caves to hibernate - let’s use this to inspire us
into action. If you have suggestions for our upcoming online event in
June 2020, please feel free to reach out to Convention Manager Brian
Geary (bgeary@guitarfoundation.org), who will be coordinating this event along with our newly titled Executive Producer for Virtual Productions, Ryan Ayers (rayers@guitarfoundation.org). All ideas are welcome!

The
GFA holds all of our members and friends in our thoughts as you
navigate the diverse challenges brought on by the past few months. We
can’t yet see how long the path continues until this is behind us, and
we want all our friends who have been impacted by this global,
life-changing event, whether by loss of work, quarantine, illness, or
tragic loss of life, to know that we are thinking of you. In addition
to these tangible life changes, there are also the intangible anxieties
that many will suffer as we all try to move forward in uncertain times.
Please be kind to yourself, and to others, as we all need a little extra
patience and compassion right now.

We
look forward to celebrating with you safely through our devices in
June. Wishing you and your loved ones good health and peace.